Potstickers

A potsticker is a Chinese dumpling appetizer--or a snack. I only made these because they were an America's Test Kitchen recipe but I wasn't sure if they had an authentic Chinese taste! Having eaten potstickers before, I made some adaptations to the recipe. Diana and AJ both said they were "delicate" in taste,  because I had used the lighter-tasting ground chicken instead of an "earthier" ground pork. This recipe makes more than 24 potstickers--I have leftover filling and dumpling dough.

Three cups napa cabbage

Napa cabbage chopped finely down to two and a half cups

Salted napa cabbage draining in a colander

Ground chicken, ginger, scallion, napa cabbage, egg whites, and seasoning

The filling

Ready to make potstickers

A scant tablespoon of filling

Mound the filling in a slightly oval shape

Wet the edges with a fingertip dipped in water

Fold the dumpling in half, pressing out any air pockets and sealing the edges

Only two potstickers left!

Yum!

For the potsticker filling
3 cups napa cabbage, chopped finely
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound ground pork or ground chicken
4 teaspoons soy sauce (recommend white soy sauce since it won't color the meat)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 large egg white (original recipe: 2 egg whites)
4 medium scallions, chopped finely
1 large clove garlic (about 1 teaspoon), chopped finely

For the potsticker dumplings
1 package round gyoza or dumpling dough (See photo above)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup water

Make the filling. Combine napa cabbage and salt in a colander and set over a large bowl to drain. Salting the vegetable releases excess water. Let stand for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the drained napa cabbage and combine lightly. The original recipe said to refrigerate 30 minutes or more until ready to fill dumplings, but I skipped this step.

Make the dumplings. Assemble dumplings as in the photographs above. Put each dumpling on a parchment lined baking tray. Be careful not to over lap the dumplings. The recipe said to make 24 but cook 12 at a time.  I froze the remaining 12 dumplings and refrigerated the leftover dumpling filling and dumpling dough. I will make more dumplings tomorrow.

Pan-fry the dumplings. Arrange 12 dumplings in a cold 12-inch skillet. Add oil and fry 2 minutes until the dumplings are browned on the bottom. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan by pouring it around the dumplings. It will sizzle, so be careful.  Cook, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 3 minutes. I found the water was not completely absorbed so I removed the cover and let the dumplings cook for another minute or so until the water cooked down to about a tablespoon. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce (recommend Kikkoman's)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili oil, optional
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 scallion, minced

I recommend, for an authentic Chinese taste, or just to spice things up, crumble a dried red chili in your fingers or chop up a fresh chili pepper and add to the dipping sauce. To make the sauce less spicy, remove the seeds and veins from the fresh chili, if preferred.  Put up any leftover sauce in the refrigerator. Caution: if you add dried or fresh chilies to the sauce it will marinate and become hotter!

P.S. I made 17 additional dumplings out of the leftovers!

Curried Cashew Shrimp with Garlic Cilantro Rice

It's a cold evening in New York and it wanted warming up with a dish that's got echoes of the tropics with coconut milk, garlic, cilantro, shrimp, and rice. With a rice cooker to cook the rice, you can whip up this meal in half an hour.

Heat the oil to fry the minced garlic

Brown the rice in garlic and oil

In a bowl, toss shrimp with curry powder, ginger, and salt

Zucchini half-rounds, chunks of red sweet pepper, and shrimp

Brown the cashew nuts whole

Add he shrimp to the cashew nuts

Add the zucchini and peppers

Pour in the coconut milk

Adding the Greek-style yogurt

Some brown sugar and fish sauce

Garlic cilantro rice ready to serve

Curried Cashew Shrimp with Garlic Cilantro Rice

For the rice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups (3 rice cooker cups) uncooked Thai jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using chicken broth)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

For the shrimp
1/4 cup cashews, whole or pieces, roasted or raw
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 pound or 2 cups shrimp, shelled and deveined with tails on
4 teaspoons curry powder, hot or mild
1 tablespoon or more minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds and halved
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce

Preparation
For the rice
Brown the rice. In a 10-inch skillet, heat the oil and fry the garlic 30 seconds until golden brown. Add the uncooked rice to the pan and fry until the rice grains are coated with oil.
Cook the rice. Scrape the browned rice grains into the rice cooker. Add the broth or water until it comes up to the first knuckle of your finger dipped into the top of the rice, about 1 1/2 cups liquid. Add salt, if using. Cover the rice cooker and press the button to start. Just before serving, mix in the cilantro leaves.

For the shrimp
Season the shrimp. In a medium bowl, put the shrimp. Add the curry powder, ginger, and salt. Toss to coat thoroughly. Set aside.
Stir-fry. Heat a 12-inch skillet. Add the cashews and brown until lightly golden. Spray cooking spray on the cashews and turn.  Add the oil and heat until shimmering, turning the nuts frequently. Add the shrimp, peppers, and zucchini. Cook on medium high heat until the shrimp turns pink.
Make the sauce. Add the coconut milk to the shrimp mixture in the pan. Turn the heat to low and allow to come to a slow boil, about 5-6 minutes. Add the yogurt and combine. Stir in the sugar. Sprinkle fish sauce on top, or add more to taste. Serve hot with garlic cilantro rice.